Hematopoietic stem cell metabolism

After studying Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol (UK, 2009-2012), Els Mansell obtained a PhD from the University of Bristol studying in utero origins of childhood leukaemia (2017). Afterwards, she moved to Sweden to work as a postdoctoral researcher at Lund University (2017-2022). Here, Els Mansell worked for Tariq Enver (director of UCL Cancer Institute, UK) whilst being informally embedded within the laboratory of Jonas Larsson (Lund Stem Cell Center). During her time in Lund, Els Mansell studied Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC) biology to understand how hematopoiesis is regulated at steady state, during stress and upon ageing. She made important contributions to our understanding of how mitochondrial activity reflects age-related performance of murine HSCs (Mansell et al, Cell Stem Cell 2021).  Towards the end of her postdoc, Els Mansell was awarded independent start-up grants from the European Hematology Association (EHA, 2021) and the Swedish Research Council (VR, 2022). In April 2023, Els Mansell started as tenure track group leader at the Erasmus MC Department of Hematology. Els Mansell has retained a part-time position at Lund University fostering close collaboration. Recently, she was awarded a Young Investigator Grant by the Dutch Cancer Foundation (KWF YIG, 2023) to test if mitochondrial metabolism of HSCs can be targeted to alleviate age-associated cancer risk and improve therapy outcomes.

Our research

The overarching research aim of the Mansell lab is to test the notion that mitochondrial metabolism might be a promising druggable driver of hematopoietic stem cell fate in ageing and disease. We aim to research how mitochondrial activity relates to stem cell function in the context of murine and human ageing, during cancer initiation, upon chemotherapy treatment and for the purpose of stem cell transplantation practices.

If this sounds interesting to you, the Mansell lab encourages people from all backgrounds and career stages to get in touch about employment or internship opportunities.

Our team

Key publications